"Why?"

As Wang Zi tightened the cord around her neck, Hebe raised her knees and kicked him hard in the chest. Wang Zi gasped in surprise and staggered back, struggling to breathe, his chest throbbing.

The cord. He had dropped the cord.

Hebe screamed and scrambled off the couch.

He hated it when they screamed.

He hated it when they gave him such a hard time.

He'd have to teach her a lesson.

Desperate to get away, she stumbled over the low coffee table. Wang Zi grabbed up a heavy ceramic flower vase from the table. Swinging it in one hand, he turned to chase her.

She was in the center of the room, running awkwardly, her eyes wide with terror.

She screamed again.

Then, suddenly, she stopped and looked back at him, breathing hard. "Why?" Hebe asked, staring at the vase in his hand. "Why?"

"Sorry," he said.

He couldn't think of anything else to say.

How could he explain it to her?

Even if he could put it in words, he didn't have time.

"Where's GuiGui?" she asked, and then dropped open in horror. "You killed her? You killed GuiGui?"

He nodded. No point in lying to her.

"GuiGui!" she screamed. "GuiGui!" as if she didn't believe what he had told her.

He moved toward her quickly.

She had reached the hallway. She turned, her feet slipping on the bare wood floor, and headed toward the kitchen.

He couldn't let her go. He couldn't let her run out the back door.

He couldn't let her outside where she would scream for help, where someone might hear her.

Didn't she understand?

Didn't she understand that he had no choice?

"GuiGui!" she screamed. "Help! Oh, help! Somebody--- help me!"

Her sneakers thudded down the short hallway.

He caught her as she reached the kitchen doorway.

He grabbed her shoulders from behind and pushed her hard, and she stumbled forward into the counter. The impact of the collision momentarily took her breath away.

He didn't give her time to recover.

She was up against the counter, gasping for air, trying to push away from it with both hands, as he swung the heavy vase and caught the back of her head.

She uttered a low howl and sank to her knees.

He moved quickly to finish her off.